Control system for a wind turbine

1. A control system for a wind turbine, wherein the control system comprises: a physical, tangible element configured to: obtain a 3-dimensional image of at least a portion of a first blade of the wind turbine; recognize a plurality of target features of the first blade in the obtained image, wherein the plurality of target features includes a natural feature of the first blade and a marker attached to the first blade; identify a plurality of positions of the plurality of target features; and in dependence on the plurality of positions: monitor the state of the first blade; and control operation of at least one blade.

2. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the image is an image of at least a portion of the interior of the first blade.

3. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the physical, tangible element is configured to control operation of the at least one blade in order to limit one or more of a blade twist, a blade deflection, a vibration, a torque, and a power output.

4. The control system of claim 1 , wherein monitoring the state of the first blade comprising determining at least one blade state parameter for the first blade in dependence on the plurality of positions.

5. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the physical, tangible element is further configured to: identify a behavioral condition of the first blade in dependence on the plurality of positions.

6. The control system of claim 1 , wherein one or both of monitoring the state of the first blade and controlling operation of the at least one blade is dependent on one or both of a location and an orientation of the plurality of target features.

7. The control system of claim 1 , wherein one or both of monitoring the state of the first blade and controlling operation of the at least one blade is dependent on a first position of the plurality of positions relative to a second position of the plurality of positions.

8. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the physical, tangible element is further configured to: determine an error between an identified position of the plurality of positions and a reference position for a target feature of the plurality of target features, and wherein one or both of monitoring the state of the first blade and controlling operation of the at least one blade is dependent on the error between the identified position and the reference position.

9. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the physical, tangible element is configured to control operation of the at least one blade in proportion to the error between the identified position and the reference position.

10. The control system of claim 8 , wherein the reference position is based on a position in a previously obtained reference image.

11. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the physical, tangible element is further configured to: determine a rate of change of position or an acceleration of a first target feature of the plurality of target features, and wherein one or both of monitoring the state of the first blade and controlling operation of the at least one blade is dependent on the determined rate of change of position or the acceleration of the first target feature.

12. The control system of claim 1 , wherein the physical, tangible element is further configured to: automatically select a first target feature of the plurality of target features from a plurality of recognizable features.

13. The control system of claim 1 , further comprising a 3-dimensional scanning device configured to generate the image.

14. The control system of claim 13 , wherein the 3-dimensional scanning device comprises a LIDAR scanning device.

15. The control system of claim 13 , wherein the 3-dimensional scanning device is mounted to the first blade.

16. The control system of claim 13 , wherein the 3-dimensional scanning device is located inside the first blade.

17. The control system of claim 16 , wherein the 3-dimensional scanning device is located within a root portion of the first blade and faces towards a tip of the first blade.

18. A wind turbine, comprising a tower; a nacelle disposed on the tower; a rotor having one end disposed in the nacelle and having a hub disposed on another end; a plurality of wind turbine blades connected to the hub; and a control system disposed on the wind turbine, the control system comprising: one or more light detecting devices disposed on one or more of the wind turbine blades; and a controller communicatively coupled to the one or more light detecting devices; wherein the controller is configured to perform an operation comprising: obtaining a 3-dimensional image of at least a portion of a first blade of the plurality of wind turbine blades; recognizing a target feature of a plurality of target features of the first blade in the obtained image, wherein the plurality of target features includes a natural feature of the wind turbine blade and a marker attached to the wind turbine blade; identifying a position of the target feature; and in dependence on the position: monitoring the state of the first blade; and controlling operation of at least one blade.

19. A method of for use with a wind turbine, the method comprising: obtaining a 3-dimensional image of at least a portion of a first blade of the wind turbine; recognizing a first target feature of a plurality of target features of the first blade in the obtained image, wherein the plurality of target features includes a natural feature of the first blade and a marker attached to the first blade; indentifying a position of the first target feature; and monitoring the state of the first blade; and controlling operation of at least one blade of the wind turbine.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein controlling operation of the at least one blade comprises: automatically controlling operation of the at least one blade in response to the state in order to limit one or more of a blade twist, a blade deflection, a vibration, a torque, and a power output.